Sept. 18, 2018, 6:48 p.m.| National Observatory of Athens

The visitors centre of the National Observatory of Athens will be conducting evening tours in English on dates throughout August and September offering the public the opportunity to peer through the 8 metre dome of the Doridis telescope, to enjoy the Athenian sky from the Hill of the Nymphs, opposite the Acropolis.

The Doridis refracting telescope was built by the French company P.F. Gautier in 1902. It is housed in a building designed by Ernst Ziller, a short distance from the Sinas building. It was used for the first time at the eclipse of the sun on 30th August, 1905.

The telescope was out of use for nearly half a century due to the lack of resources. In 2014 it was completely restored thanks to a generous donation made by telecommunications company OTE-COSMOTE.

Other highlights:

The Sina building at the National Observatory of Athens has some of the first telescopes of Greece, including the meridian refractor of G. Bouris (1846). It also houses the Geoastrophysics museum and observatory library.

Observatory Tour Days:

Tours will be conducted in English in August and September starting at 9:00pm at a cost of 5 euros per person on the following dates:

• August: 1, 3, 4, 11, 24, 25, 29, and 31.
• September: every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
• Tours are 90 minutes in duration
• For further info: Τ. +30 210-3490112, N. noa.gr

Source: whyathens.com